CERIAS: News

Spafford Wins Award for Outstanding Career Achievement

2012-04-27T13:18:41+00:00

(Purdue Today) Dr. Eugene H. Spafford, executive director of CERIAS and professor of computer science, received the Morrill Award for outstanding career achievement. This new annual award was presented at the Faculty Awards Convocation on April 26, 2012.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the federal Morrill Act, which allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges and universities, the Office of the Provost gave four Morrill Awards to faculty members who have excelled as teachers, researchers and scholars, and in engagement missions. The awards are named for Justin Smith Morrill, the Vermont congressman who sponsored the 1862 legislation that bears his name.

Each Morrill Award recipient receives a $30,000 prize, which may be used as discretionary funds or as salary supplements.

Dr. Spafford is a professor of Computer Sciences at Purdue University, a professor of Philosophy (courtesy appointment), and is Director of the Center for Education Research Information Assurance and Security. CERIAS is a campus-wide multi-disciplinary Center, with a broadly-focused mission to explore issues related to protecting information and information resources. Spaf has written extensively about information security, software engineering, and professional ethics. He has published over 100 articles and reports on his research, has written or contributed to over a dozen books, and he serves on the editorial boards of most major infosec-related journals.

Dr. Spafford is a Fellow of the ACM, Fellow of the AAAS, Fellow of the IEEE, and is a charter recipient of the Computer Society’s Golden Core award. In 2000, he was named as a CISSP, honoris causa. He was the year 2000 recipient of the NIST/NCSC National Computer Systems Security Award, generally regarded as the field’s most significant honor in information security research. In 2001, he was named as one of the recipients of the “Charles B. Murphy” awards and named as a Fellow of the Purdue Teaching Academy, the University’s two highest awards for outstanding undergraduate teaching. In 2001, he was elected to the ISSA Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the William Hugh Murray medal of the NCISSE for his contributions to research and education in infosec. Among his many activities, he is co-chair of the ACM’s U.S. Public Policy Committee and of its Advisory Committee on Computer Security and Privacy, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Computing Research Association, and is a member of the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board.

CERIAS Annual Awards Announced

2012-04-04T19:20:27+00:00

Annual awards were announced at the CERIAS symposium on April 3rd.

Professor Marc Rogers, of Computer & Information Technology, won the 2012 Pillar Award. This award, usually given annually, goes to the person (faculty,staff, alumnus, friend of Purdue) who has made a long-term, exceptional effort to support and grow CERIAS. The award recognizes a combination of contributions, including service above and beyond what is expected, and excellence in research and/or education. The award consists of a plaque and commemorative clock.

Faculty members Christopher Clifton (CS), Daniel DeLaurentis(AAE), Arif Ghafoor (ECE), Lorrain Kisselburgh (COM), Robert Proctor (PSY), and Julia Taylor (CIT) were all named as “Fellows of CERIAS.” This designation is awarded to faculty who have demonstrated sustained, significant involvement in Center activities in education, research and service over the prior 3 years. The award includes a certificate and special pin.

Two students — Jeffrey Seibert (CS) and Kevin O’Connor (IT) each received a Diamond Award. This award, consisting of a diamond-shaped trophy, is given to students who are nominated by faculty and chosen by a selection committee. The intent of the award is to recognize students who have thrived under the pressure of their academic program to emerge as “gems” in the field.

Jeffrey received his undergrad degree from Purdue, and is expected to graduate with his PhD this May, working under the supervision of Professor Cristina Nita-Rotaru (CS). Jeff’s dissertation research addresses the use of locality in building distributed systems.

Kevin also received his undergrad degree from Purdue, and is expected to graduate with his MS in 2013. He is working in the Biometrics Lab under the direction of Professor Stephen Elliott (IT). He is working on several topics in biometrics, including standardization issues.

Putting to Rest RSA Key Security Worries

2012-02-21T20:49:05+00:00

IT security practitioners who employ the RSA public-private key cryptography needn’t lose sleep about its efficacy, despite new research that raises questions on how it creates large prime numbers to generate secret keys. IT security authority Gene Spafford says.

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Cloud Computing Risks Generally Covered by Cyber Insurance

2012-01-24T16:21:18+00:00

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Spafford to Speak at Next Science on Tap

2012-01-19T13:42:11+00:00

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University computer science professor Eugene Spafford, a sought-after global expert on computer security and privacy issues, is the featured speaker at the next Science on Tap on Thursday (Jan. 19) in downtown Lafayette.

Spafford, who has served as an information security consultant to the White House and other federal government agencies, will speak at 6 p.m. in the upstairs of the Lafayette Brewing Company, 622 Main St., Lafayette.

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No Wikipedia? What if the Internet went down?

2012-01-19T13:17:23+00:00

It is possible that hackers, terrorists, accidents or even sunspots could take down the Internet and cause areas to become cut off and unreachable, said Spafford, one of the foremost experts on computer security.

ACSA Offers Scholarship for Women Studying Information Security

2012-01-06T21:24:12+00:00

The ACSA SWSIS program offers a $10,000 scholarship to a woman for use in her junior or senior year of undergraduate studies, or first year of a graduate program (i.e., application may be made in the spring of her sophomore, junior, or senior year, or the spring before entering a graduate program if a bachelor’s degree has already been completed). The scholarship is administered by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

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The State of Security Education

2011-11-29T21:10:32+00:00

Information security threats - especially to critical infrastructures and from nation-states - are evolving. But security education curricula are struggling to keep pace, according to Eugene Spafford, renowned information security professor at Purdue University.

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Why Law Enforcement Can’t Stop Hackers

2011-11-15T16:46:03+00:00

The threat that criminal hackers pose to corporate and government information systems has spiked in the past five years, according to the FBI, and shows no signs of abating. The worst part: Law enforcement is virtually powerless in cracking down on cybercrime. CIO.com investigates the challenges law enforcement officials face in investigating and prosecuting hackers.

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Two CERIAS Faculty Receive Honors

2011-11-08T19:36:19+00:00

(November 4, 2011 Purdue University News Service) Stephen Elliott, CERIAS Fellow and associate professor of technology, leadership and innovation, is nominated as one of three winners of the International Electrotechnical Commission Young Professional at an international conference. The program seeks to cultivate long-term national involvement in the international arena, strengthen technology transfer, and encourage the participation of young professionals in shaping standards and conformance. Elliott is the head of Purdue’s Biometric Standards Performance and Assurance laboratory.

David Love, CERIAS Faculty and Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Five Purdue faculty members have been selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s third Frontiers of Engineering Education symposium Nov. 13-16 in Irvine, Calif. Sixty-five early-career faculty members who are developing and implementing innovative educational approaches in a variety of engineering disciplines will share ideas and learn from research and best practice in education. The five from Purdue are David Corti, professor of chemical engineering; David Love, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Eric Nauman, associate professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering; Jeff Rhoads, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; and Carl Wassgren, professor of mechanical engineering. Karl Smith, cooperative learning professor in engineering education, is on the planning committee for the symposium.